Sonic Foundry Founder Monty Schmidt raved about the cryptocurrency known as bitcoin during a panel discussion at the monthly WIN luncheon held Tuesday at the Sheraton Hotel.

Schmidt, who now heads wuntusk, a company that strives to promote and further the cause of cryptocurrency technologies, called bitcoins a “gamechanger.”

“There are three things that have changed my life,” Schmidt said. “The computer, the Internet and now the bitcoin.”

According to bitcoin.org, bitcoin is a decentralized currency that uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks. Advantages include transactions without a clearing house and worldwide acceptance. Local startup murfie announced in July that it would start accepting bitcoins for music purchase.

Schmidt is such a strong advocate of bitcoins that he organized a cryptocurrency hackathon earlier this month at Madworks Coworking at University Research Park.

“I’m all about the bitcoin,” Schmidt said. “This is something that’s truly going to affect us going forward.”

Joining Schmidt on the “Where are they now?”-type panel were two other Sonic Foundry alums, Chris Cain of Foley & Lardner and Rimas Buinevicius of Rowheels.